Muthoot Group, Delhi Daredevils pledge to bat for 'Education' this Season

New Delhi, April 11 (ANI): The Muthoot Group, one of India's leading and diversified business conglomerates and Delhi Daredevils have joined hands to bat for the cause of education of the lesser privileged children in India.

Using the popularity of this season, Muthoot Group and Delhi Daredevils seek not only to raise awareness about the "Importance of Education" through a plethora of initiatives but also to raise funds that will help in fulfilling the dreams of the lesser privileged children in India. Muthoot Group strongly believes that every child especially from the less privileged strata of society has a basic right to education. Hence, to support the education of the less privileged children in various states, the Group has tied up with two NGOs - Save the Children and Magic Bus.

In order to further this cause, Muthoot Group has announced four CSR Campaigns 'Rs.6000 for every Six and Rs.4000 for every Four', 'The Golden Bat', 'The Wishing Ball' and 'Muthoot Dus Ki Toli'. Each initiative aids the Group to contribute to the cause financially. The contributions made during this campaign will be donated to both the NGO partners - Save the Children and Magic Bus who will further utilize the amount towards the education of the less privileged kids.

Delhi Daredevils captain Mahela Jayawardena, all-rounders Irfan Pathan and Johan Botha and paceman Umesh Yadav represented the team and spent time with the children of the "Muthoot Dus Ki Toli" campaign. They pledged their team's support to the signature campaign by signing the "The Golden Bat" and "The Wishing Ball".

Speaking on this initiative, Alexander George Muthoot, Director, Muthoot Group said: "We are an organization that is committed to the betterment of our community and believe education is a primary concern of our nation. Education is pivotal to human growth, enabling them to free themselves from the vicious circle of ignorance, poverty and disease. Through our association with Delhi Daredevils, our purpose during this campaign is to introduce a positive change in the lives of lesser privileged children, fulfil their dreams of having an education and bring closer to a few aspirants. We decided to launch this campaign during this season as apart from being such a significant platform, this season gives us a strong and larger base to connect our CSR initiatives with the masses."

Delhi Daredevils Captain Mahela Jayawardena said: "I believe that education plays a key role in ensuring that children can look forward to a bright future. I am glad we are doing our part in creating awareness and hope to receive the fans' support towards the initiative. We will try and hit as many fours and sixes to ensure that we contribute as a team."

Thanking Muthoot Group and the Delhi Daredevils, Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children added: "Corporate initiative such as this is critical if we are to make progress in enabling the most marginalized children in India to have equal access to quality education. It is fantastic that this is being made possible through sport, which should also be an integral part of every childhood. On our part, we would now be able to step up our efforts to bring about a systemic improvement in education to benefit the less privileged children."

"We from Magic Bus are thrilled to be the charity partners for this first-of-its-kind fundraising initiative in aid of children. Magic Bus is today working from childhood, all the way towards dignified livelihood options as adults, and we know that together with the right partners like Muthoot Group, we can make a real dent on poverty", said Matthew Spacie, Founder and CEO, Magic Bus.

The Muthoot Group's four CSR initiatives are as follows:

'Rs 6000 for every 6 and Rs. 4000 for every 4' encompasses a donation of Rs. 6,000 for every six and a donation of Rs. 4,000 for every four, the Delhi Daredevils player hits this season. The amount will be donated by the Group and given to its NGO partners that will focus on the Educational development of the less privileged kids.

'The Golden Bat', a larger than life sized 25x6 feet sized bat will help people connect with their individual social responsibility. Through this initiative, Muthoot Group hopes and invites people from all walks of life to share their signature and help in empowering the lesser privileged through the education route. People, irrespective of their favourite teams, can sign on the bat and play an active role in shaping the education life of the underprivileged children. Needless to say, the more the number of signatures, the larger the amount of sum contributed by Muthoot Group towards this noble cause. The Golden Bat is travelling across multiple cities of the country including Karnal, Mohali, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Raipur, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and others.

'Wishing Ball', a 6 feet diameter sized ball has also been constructed on a similar note as the 'Golden Bat'. The ball is travelling extensively across to more than 110 locations in Delhi-NCR. Delhities can wish the Delhi Daredevils team by signing on the ball and asking them to hit more and more boundaries which in turn will help Muthoot Group to contribute more for the cause and more and more less privileged kids can be benefitted.

The "Muthoot Dus Ki Toli" initiative entailed the selection of Ball Boys and Girls for this season Delhi home matches. Out of the 3500 less privileged kids living in the slum areas of Delhi and Kochi, 64 kids have been selected who now not only stand to win a chance of meeting their cricket icons but also be one among them outside the boundary. The selection was done in association with NGO partner Magic Bus through a rigorous search in the North, East, West and South regions of Delhi and Kochi. This initiative by Muthoot Group is towards the cause of children's rights to live, learn and grow well across Delhi and Kochi, especially who harbour real talent for cricket and other sports and is a small step in the realization of their dreams of meeting and watching their cricket idols live in action! (ANI)